Teaser Trailer for an upcoming thread

[Bunyip]

What a great thread!

 

[Stand By]

Ta-Daaaah! Finished!

So I will also be including finishing techniques such as making your jacket art looked toned down and a little "aged" and, as you can see in the sneak peek here, I'll be demonstrating the use of a dark wash to act as a filter and how dry-brushing works to "dirty down" (to use Derek Meddings' term) your work and stop the art from looking too bright and fresh. An airbrush does this very well, but how many of you have one of those? So this is a perfectly achievable result with brushes and Q-Tips.

The jacket is now done - it just needs a final coat of matt varnish and that will be covered in the thread too... it's everything from A-Z.
So now I just have to find the time to work the photos into all the text ...

And here's the jacket as it looks - from behind and from the front (I show the front as I've added an extra bomb as we recently also rescued a desperately hard-luck case of a dog from Mexico. The photos of how she was found are nothing short of HORRIFIC - something more akin to Reanimator than real life! Not an exaggeration, I'm sorry to say. I'm very glad to say she's made a complete recovery and is the sweetest thing on 4 legs and is so happy to have a home and people to call her own at last - and we could not be happier with her).
Anyway, I demonstrate the basic techniques with the bomb tallies first as it is simplest to explain the process with them - and it's the same process for the name on the back panel, just expanded - as I show. It'll all make sense.




PS. And for the rear shot that my camera took on a timer, NO - I am NOT taking a whizz in my own back yard. I just have my hands in my pockets. Honest!

 

[Stand By]

That's called getting "Schmitt-faced". lol

And with no nazi aftertaste …!

 

[Monitor]

Perfection! So that's your normal acrylic paint you used??

 

[Stand By]

Perfection! So that's your normal acrylic paint you used??

Yes, just regular artist acrylics (from an art shop - not a model shop) - but as I shall relate, it's important to choose the best. Most brands offer two tiers of quality; a student grade and a professional grade. As the name suggests, the student grade is aimed at beginners and to make them better value (affordable) they have lesser quality pigment and more fillers, less cadmium (if you're using cadmium-based colour) etc. and aren't all they can be. So I always opt for a professional type as it's the best - and your jacket deserves nothing less!

P.S. And thank you!

 

[emigran]

I couldn't "copy" a straight line with a ruler...

 

[Big J]

Yeah, this is all good stuff!

Can't wait to get the full play-by-play Stand By sensei!

 

[Stand By]

I couldn't "copy" a straight line with a ruler...

So use a flexible ruler and draw a bent one !

Or a nice curve, as in what I used on the Lucky part of Lucky Dog - I gave the font a gentle sweep with this. Very handy!

 

[Big J]

Yes, just regular artist acrylics (from an art shop - not a model shop) - but as I shall relate, it's important to choose the best. Most brands offer two tiers of quality; a student grade and a professional grade. As the name suggests, the student grade is aimed at beginners and to make them better value (affordable) they have lesser quality pigment and more fillers, less cadmium (if you're using cadmium-based colour) etc. and aren't all they can be. So I always opt for a professional type as it's the best - and your jacket deserves nothing less!

P.S. And thank you!

So, Stand By, you don't think that Tamiya acrylic modeling paints will be up to the task?
I was hoping they would since it would make getting aircraft colors right so easy.

 

[navetsea]

beautifully done!!!

and touching story of the stray dogs you saved, by counting on those bombs big and small and the slight faded ones on the first row I can see you've been doing this for awhile.

 

[Stand By]

So, Stand By, you don't think that Tamiya acrylic modeling paints will be up to the task?
I was hoping they would since it would make getting aircraft colors right so easy.

I wish I could tell you something more useful here, Big J. I was given my first Airfix kits (a P-51 Mustang and a Spitfire! I felt so lucky!) at the age of 6 and I learned to use Airfix paints; enamel-based of course. And I've always used enamels as I've learned how to get the results I like with them and never felt the urge to try another system.
I didn't use acrylics until I first painted Stand By on my old A2 back in 1993- and I was told to use artist acrylics and I mixed them to create the RLM Luftwaffe colours of the Me-323 Gigant on it - and you could do that?
And these days, acrylics are very much in vogue for scale models, as I can see you know from your Tamiya reference - and they would be great quality as everything is that Tamiya makes. I wish I could say better than that, but I've no experience of using them on my jackets - but they may be perfect - and when you add a good coat of matt varnish to protect them, they may work beautifully - and easily!
I'd say get a piece of leather as a swatch and try them out - see how they go on, see how they set up and try flexing the swatch to see if they flake or crack …? If you want a swatch of goatskin or HH, I can send you whatever it is you're intending to work on.
Sorry I can't be more help than that.

 

[Big J]

I wish I could tell you something more useful here, Big J. I was given my first Airfix kits (a P-51 Mustang and a Spitfire! I felt so lucky!) at the age of 6 and I learned to use Airfix paints; enamel-based of course. And I've always used enamels as I've learned how to get the results I like with them and never felt the urge to try another system.
I didn't use acrylics until I first painted Stand By on my old A2 back in 1993- and I was told to use artist acrylics and I mixed them to create the RLM Luftwaffe colours of the Me-323 Gigant on it - and you could do that?
And these days, acrylics are very much in vogue for scale models, as I can see you know from your Tamiya reference - and they would be great quality as everything is that Tamiya makes. I wish I could say better than that, but I've no experience of using them on my jackets - but they may be perfect - and when you add a good coat of matt varnish to protect them, they may work beautifully - and easily!
I'd say get a piece of leather as a swatch and try them out - see how they go on, see how they set up and try flexing the swatch to see if they flake or crack …? If you want a swatch of goatskin or HH, I can send you whatever it is you're intending to work on.
Sorry I can't be more help than that.

No, that's great! Thank you! I got some swatches of goat here somewhere...

 

[Bunyip]

And with no nazi aftertaste …!

Classic!

 

[Stand By]

Okay, so I just put a call into my local hobby store and asked them about Tamiya acrylics and their permanence - and was told that Tamiya are unique amongst all their competitors in that the Tamiya acrylics are alcohol-based, not water-based! Very interesting!
For this reason, they tend to be more permanent - and can be diluted with a variety of mediums: Tamiya thinner, isopropyl alcohol, water or even laquer thinner.
Regular acrylic paints are diluted with a touch of water as we know, so they do sound more promising to me! Well worth a dry run on a swatch for sure!

 

[Big J]

Okay, so I just put a call into my local hobby store and asked them about Tamiya acrylics and their permanence - and was told that Tamiya are unique amongst all their competitors in that the Tamiya acrylics are alcohol-based, not water-based! Very interesting!
For this reason, they tend to be more permanent - and can be diluted with a variety of mediums: Tamiya thinner, isopropyl alcohol, water or even laquer thinner.
Regular acrylic paints are diluted with a touch of water as we know, so they do sound more promising to me! Well worth a dry run on a swatch for sure!

Whoah! That's awesome information! Thank you!
There's no way I'd want to put alcohol on leather.

 

[Stand By]

Whoah! That's awesome information! Thank you!
There's no way I'd want to put alcohol on leather.

You're right there. Imagine laquer thinner on leather! No way, man. Miss a little and kiss those lovely tanned dyes goodbye.
Safer with water-based, methinks.

 

[Monitor]

I had no idea paint sticks this well to leather!

 

[Stand By]

I had no idea paint sticks this well to leather!

Well, it can - if you do the right prep and use good materials (some are more permanent than others) and don't abuse what is the finished work (as in treat it as though it's indestructible) … it'll last! My old Stand By art has just 3 or 4 tiny pin-prick sized flakes missing after years of wear on my old A2 - and that was artists oils and acrylics.

 

[Stand By]

beautifully done!!!

and touching story of the stray dogs you saved, by counting on those bombs big and small and the slight faded ones on the first row I can see you've been doing this for awhile.

Thank you Navetsea - and good eye on the bomb tallies - they're all pets. The duck "decoy mission" represents our parrot and the smaller bombs are our small breed dogs - all animals bar one are rescues and adoptions, mostly from Texas - even the parrot is an adoption!
We rescued our first dog over 5 years ago from Texas - he had a Monday morning appointment with a gas chamber (simply as the shelter was so full - and he ticked the boxes of the demographics to be literally first in line - he was a) senior, b) black, c) larger and d) not in anything but perfect health (we had asked the shelter to test him for heartworm and he came back positive - easily/cheaply treated but a death sentence for him). So we got him out of there with about 2 hours to spare (!) ... and he is such a perfect dog - the poster dog for rescues everywhere.
And so we went on to rescue 4 more over the years - the last one from Mexico (and she's a sweet little angel).
This is her as the sanctuary found her 2.5 years ago ....

[

And as she is today ...

 

[SpeedRcrX]

I applaud you for saving those dogs.
I still don't understand how some people can treat animals like that...
These dogs don't ask anything but to be love!.

The painting is beautiful, congrats!